“The world is in a race against time. The single most important thing we could do to reduce CO2 emissions quickly and cost-effectively, is phase-out coal and speed up investments in energy efficiency and renewables. When China announced in January that it was cancelling more than 100 coal plants currently in development, they set an example for governments everywhere: change happens quickly when governments act – by establishing clear, long-term policy and financial signals and incentives.”

Christine Lins, Executive Secretary, REN21

““The world is adding more renewable power capacity each year than it adds in new capacity from all fossil fuels combined. One of the most important findings of this year’s GSR, is that holistic, systemic approaches are key and should become the rule rather than the exception. As the share of renewables grows we will need investment in infrastructure as well as a comprehensive set of tools: integrated and interconnected transmission and distribution networks, measures to balance supply and demand, sector coupling (for example the integration of power and transport networks); and deployment of a wide range of enabling technologies.”

Arthouros Zervos, Chair, REN21

“Developments over the course of 2016 show that renewables play a central role in today’s energy provision. This latest report from REN21 –the Renewables 2017 Global Status Report—illustrates that renewables are also playing an increasing role in the industry sector and contributed to the broader de-coupling phenomenon where economic growth occurred against the backdrop of global energy-related C02 emissions from fossil fuels and industry nearly flat for the third-year running. UNIDO welcomes this release as it is only by managing our global emissions that we will be able to meet commitments under the Paris Agreement.”

Li Yong, Director General, UNIDO

“The latest REN21 Renewables 2017 Global Status Report provides excellent insight into the remarkable gains being made by renewable energy around the world. IRENA finds that renewable power generating capacity saw its largest annual increase ever in 2016, and in parallel, that global employment numbers rose due to record deployment of renewables (particularly solar PV) in 2016. The global total number of jobs in renewable energy has now reached 9.8 million. Collectively these numbers clearly show that we are well on our way in the global transition to a sustainable energy future.”

“Over 2016 there has been a dramatic and sustained improvement in the competitiveness of renewable power generation technologies. Around the world, renewables have benefited from a cycle of falling costs spurred on by accelerated deployment, and the competiveness of renewable power generation technologies continues to improve The most spectacular RE prices were revealed through auctions that are gaining in popularity in many countries. The REN21 Renewables 2017 Global Status Report clearly documents this, providing decision and policy makers with timely, robust data.”

Vivien Foster, Global Lead for Energy Economics, Markets & Institutions, The World Bank Group

“We all want a healthy environment and healthy people, and clean energy is a central part of the solution. A global transition to renewable erg technologies like solar and wind are also key ingredients of delivering on the Paris Agreement, keeping the global temperature rise below 2C and avoiding catastrophic climate change. This new report shows where we are on this journey, and the data is clear: we need to move faster”.

Erik Solheim, Executive Director, UN Environment

“REN21’s Renewables 2017 Global Status Report documents for the first time how enabling technologies are facilitating and advancing the deployment of renewable energy. ICT, storage systems, EVs and heat pumps are just a few that are facilitating and advancing the deployment of renewable energy. Even though these technologies were not developed for this purpose originally, they are showing tremendous capacity to facilitate greater system integration, data collection and dissemination of system resources, and more effective demand response. Understanding the role of enabling technologies is key to ensuring high level of renewable uptake. We welcome REN21’s work which perfectly complements analysis done by the IEA.”

Paolo Frankl, Renewable Energy Division Head, IEA

“Here in Ontario, we strive to put out as reports that are as beautiful and as useful as the Renewables Global Status Report Series. This series serves as inspiration for how data should be collected and presented to document the contribution of renewables to any region’s energy mix.”

Dianne Saxe, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Canada

“This year’s REN21 Renewables 2017 Global Status Report demonstrates once again that renewable energy is starting to live up to its enormous potential. We are entering the era of “base-cost renewables”, in which wind and solar are cheaper than fossil-based technology, and therefore become the default choice for new capacity. As the costs of solar PV and wind continue to decrease, investors will keep funding more renewable energy capacity for less money, and the power markets are going to have to run to keep up”.

Michael Liebreich, Advisory Board Chairman, BNEF

“The economic case for renewables as the backbone of our global energy system is increasingly clear and proven. The environmental upside of clean energy is matched on the question of cost. Offering ever greater bang-for-buck, renewables are quite simply the cheapest way to generate energy in an ever-growing number of countries. Last year 48 developing countries on the frontline of climate change joined others in committing to futures built on one hundred percent renewable energy. They set an example for others to follow, but made the choice based on cold hard economics as much as the need to address climate change. Yet to bend the emissions curve, the uptake of renewables needs to happen faster across all nations. This is a race to the top and the cost of being left behind is significant. As the US waivers on its commitment to climate action, in the face of the global consensus reached in the Paris Agreement, those who turn their back on renewables risk being left”.

Christiana Figueres, Former Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, and Convenor of Mission 2020

“The REN21 Global Status Report continues to serve as the premier source of quantitative and reliable information on the status and developments of renewable energy technologies worldwide. ISES is very pleased for the opportunity to contribute to this important and timely study”.

Dave Renne, President, ISES

You are welcome to use the information contained in this report free-of-charge. We ask that you: 1) Include the following citation REN21, < year of publication > < Name of publication > (Paris: REN21 Secretariat) 2) Send a copy of the final work to: secretariat@ren21.net

GSR 2017 Infographics

REN21 Webinars

REN21 is hosting a series of webinars with the Clean Energy Solutions Centre and the International Solar Energy Society (ISES).

Renewables Rising: What is driving uptake?

June 7, 2017

09:00 EST / 15:00 CEST / 21:00 CST

The Clean Energy Solutions Center, in partnership with the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21), is hosting a no-cost webinar on the launch of REN21’s flagship report, Renewables 2017 Global Status Report. Find out how the renewable energy market evolved over 2016 and what policy developments drove uptake.

The webinar will begin with an overview of REN21’s newly released Renewables 2017 Global Status Report, followed by a specific look at 2016 developments in China. Globally, China maintains its lead for new installations in solar photovoltaics and wind despite a significant decline in the country’s annual market. Hear about what this means for renewables in China, the opportunities and challenges and its significance for the sector as a whole.

SPEAKERS

Christine Lins, Executive Secretary, REN21

Mr. Li Junfeng, Director General of China’s National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation (NCSC)

The presentations will be followed by an interactive question and answer session with the audience.

Renewable energy and energy efficiency can be used in concert to address energy access concerns. By reducing the amount of energy required to provide modern energy services, energy efficiency is an important—and in some cases necessary—driver of energy access. Evidence shows that energy efficiency can dramatically improve the economics of energy access by reducing the upfront investment and ongoing fuel costs and by improving system reliability and performance where existing supply resources fall short. Some estimates calculate that the use of currently available energy efficiency measures could result in the delivery of universal access to modern energy services using 50%–85% less energy than prevailing estimates say is required. The effects are especially pronounced in energy access efforts that focus on distributed, off-grid renewable energy systems.

Join us to discuss what is needed to establish strong connections between renewable energy, energy access and energy efficiency.

SPEAKERS

Status of Renewables

June 14, 2017

06:00 EST / 12:00 CEST

Held in cooperation with the International Solar Energy Society (ISES)

Join us to find out what made 2016 another record year for renewables and for solar in particular. The webinar will begin with an overview of REN21’s newly released Renewables 2017 Global Status Report and will then look at the expanding role of solar in the power and heating and cooling sector.

Most power sector growth has occurred among variable renewable energy technologies—wind power and solar photovoltaics—raising concerns about potential challenges of integrating large shares of variable power into existing power systems. Against this backdrop, certain enabling technologies can serve two synergistic purposes: creating new conduits for renewable energy to reach all end-use sectors, and facilitating the successful integration of ever-growing shares of variable renewable electricity generation.

This webinar will present REN21’s recently released Renewable 2017 Global Status Report and discuss current developments in various energy technologies, infrastructure, markets and institutional frameworks that can advance and facilitate expanded deployment of renewable energy.

The Renewables Global Status Report (GSR) is a sister publication to the Global Trends in Renewable Energy Investment Report (GTR) produced by Frankfurt School UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance. The most recent edition of the report, launched in 2017, is available here.